German 26th Infantry Division

The 26th Infantry Division was a German Wehrmacht infantry division that was active from 1 April 1936 to 1945. The division was formed during the first wave of mobilization in Interwar-era Germany, and it spent the early years of the war on the Western Front, taking part in the Battle of France in May/June 1940. The division was initially a part of the German 16th Army, later transferring to the German 12th Army. In June 1941, the division was transferred to the east to take part in Operation Barbarossa, invading the Soviet Union. After the July 1943 Battle of Kursk, the 26th Division absorbed the German 174th Reserve Division, and the division was disbanded after casualties were sustained near Kowel, Ukraine on 10 September 1944. On 17 September 1944, a new 26th Volksgrenadier Division was formed in the Warthelager (Biedrusko, Poland), and it served in Army Group B during the Central Europe Campaign. In 1945, the division surrendered to the US Army in the Harz region of northern Germany.